FEATHER TOUCH FOCUSER MODEL 3545
Care and use of the Feather Touch 3545
The Feather Touch 3545 was a collaborative design effort between Telescope Engineering Co. and Starlight
Instruments for TEC’s line of fine refractors. It was designed to provide the user the with the best possible
control while focusing using a 9:1 fine focus reduction assembly along with other features that make the use
of the telescope simple and functional. All efforts were taken to design it with the best available materials and
technology to achieve long-lasting functionality and reliability.
Part Description
6.1
OTA Focuser Mounting Flange
6.2
Focuser Locking Collar
6.3
Locking Collar Stems
6.5
Tension Adjustment Screw
6.6
Finder Base Screw Holes (Plugged
with (2), 8-32 Button Head Screws)
6.7
Focuser Housing
6.8
Coarse Focus Knobs
6.9
Fine Focus Knob
6.10
Draw Tube with mm scale
6.11
Stainless Steel Wear Strips
6.12
Draw Tube End Cap
6.13
Draw Tube End Cap Locking Screws
6.14
Eyepiece Collet Locking Nut
6.15
Eyepiece Collet Sleeve (not shown
being under the plug (fig. 7).
Description of Design Features
1. The Feather Touch 3545 achieves excellent
focusing capability using a 9:1 Planetary
Reduction Assembly coupled to a fine focus
knob (fig. 6.9). The fine focus knob should be
used once the image is close to focus and final
tweaking is required.
2. The two coarse focusing knobs (fig. 6.8) on each side of the focuser allow quick rough positioning of the
eyepiece or imaging equipment. They are coupled to the rack and pinion set and the fine focus knob.
3. The assembly incorporating the focusing knobs, the pinion and it’s housing is called the pinion assembly
(not shown). This assembly is attached to the focuser housing using (2) 6-32 socket head cap screws. The
position of the pinion assembly relative to the rack, is precisely adjusted by Starlight Instruments using 4 flat
bottom set screws (internal to the pinion assembly) to provide the minimum amount of backlash between the
rack and the pinion for ease of operation. The other adjustment that is made is to align the pinion axis to be
parallel to the rack face.
NOTE: It is possible to reverse the pinion assembly for left handed preference but Starlight
Instruments does not recommend the user reversing this assembly because of possible misalignment
resulting in a loss of performance or possible damage.
Please contact Starlight Instruments or TEC if this change is desired.
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.6
6.7
6.8
6.10
6.11
6.12
6.13
6.4
6.5
6.8
6.9
6.14
6.15
7
5